Doctor Dash AfterIfs
by KimuraSato
Summary: A set of afterwards for Doctor Dash. Chapter 4: Greener on the Other Side: Danny isn't too keen on complying with the boys' wishes, but Dash tips the scales against him. (Dash x Danny)
1. Wedding Woes

**Doctor Dash: After Ifs**

_Introduction_: I have quite a few ideas of things that happen after the end of Doctor Dash.

**Warnings:** Homosexual relationships. Danny Phantom characters are 30 and over. General warnings for anything that might end up happening in these stories.

**Disclaimer:** Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.

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**Wedding Woes**

**Summary: **While preparing for the wedding, a slight snag causes Danny to help his sister find a quick replacement.

**Characters:** Danny, Dan, Jazz, and Dash

**Originally Written: **August 2013

"It's too tight!" Lex complained as his father caught his hands when he attempted, for the hundredth time, to tug the bowtie loose from around his neck.

"You won't have to wear it for very long," Danny promised, seeing the moping look in his son's blue eyes and the way his lower lip pushed out just slightly as he stared at the floor, the very picture of misery dressed in a neatly pressed white suit with his short locks of blond hair slicked back out of his eyes. "As soon as the wedding is over, you can change into something more comfortable. But Aunt Jazz and Uncle Tuck really want you to participate in the wedding. Can you at least tolerate it for them?"

Lex breathed in deeply then exhaled noisily. "I guess," he answered, sounding like it was such a chore simply agreeing to be the ring bearer.

"So," Dan said, leaning against the wall next to the full length mirror in the room with his arms folded over his broad chest. A smirk cut across his face in that way that always got under Danny's skin. He appeared human, and Danny noted with some annoyance, that he actually looked good in the suit picked out for him. "How long has it been going on?"

Danny glanced at his son, who had gone back to fussing with his bowtie, before he turned a glare onto Dan. "We are _not_ talking about this." The smirk and twisted gleam of amusement in his dark blue eyes was enough to tell Danny exactly what might be going on in his evil future's mind.

"Oh, I see." Dan chuckled as he pushed away from the wall. When he stepped up behind Lex, he placed his hands over the boy's ears. "You don't want the little ones knowing." His smirk stretched a touch wider. "Not prepared to tell my little bro about your secret relationship?"

Danny's mouth thinned as his hands curled at his side. "I swear, Dan, if you go around blabbing it to everyone, I will punt you into the nearest black hole I can find."

"I don't think Kwan would appreciate it if you did that." Dan frowned and shook his head in a mock showing of disapproval.

"He's known you for, what is it now, half a year?" Danny snorted as he folded his arms. "I'm pretty sure he'd understand perfectly if I did it."

"What can't I know?" Lex questioned, tilting his head up and glancing between the two adults with curiosity in his eyes.

"It's nothing important," Danny assured his son with a smile.

After Freakshow's attempt on Lex's life, and his life too, Danny admitted to having feelings for Dash. They were taking things slowly, only able to have alone time with each other after their children were in bed or if they got Kwan or Paulina to watch the boys for a night. Their evenings were spent mostly at one of their houses, when the boys had a sleepover, and they spent their time comfortably talking with each other or simply enjoying something on the television or in each other's company while they worked on something. Once in a while, they would go out to a restaurant for a date, but Danny much preferred staying in because everything suddenly felt weird and awkward when it was like a real date.

It was nice and comfortable between them, but then Danny would get hit by a wave of guilt crashing down on him. He shoved Dash away at those moments. Hurt flashed in Dash's eyes when that happened, and Danny would suffer a new guilt that felt like he was getting punched in the gut. He needed several days, if not a week or two, to recover after that before he could approach Dash again with an apology. Dash never showed any signs of it, but Danny always had a fear tickling in the back of his mind that the doctor grew frustrated when he had to deal with Danny's guilt over moving on from Sam. Dash always acted so understanding and said things like, "I know it's not easy for you. You loved Sam a lot and losing her isn't something that you'll magically get over just because you met someone new." Danny appreciated his patience, but sometimes he worried Dash would wake up and realize that it wasn't worth the hassle.

Even though they started their relationship around five months ago, neither of them thought it was a good idea to tell their sons yet. They were still in the uncertain phase of whether or not things would work out between them. While they both might _want_ things to work out, that didn't guarantee that they would. If they decided to end things, Danny hoped that it would be on good terms so that things weren't awkward between them for their sons' sakes.

"Danny," Jazz said as she peeked her head into the room.

"Jazz, shouldn't you be in the bride's changing room?" Danny frowned when he saw his sister, who wasn't yet in her wedding dress.

"I was just about to go there," Jazz assured him as she pushed open the door. "But Tucker's freaking out at the moment. He just got a call from his cousin. They aren't going to make it, and their daughter is sick. I'm disappointed, but I really don't want our flower girl vomiting up the aisle." She winced, imagining how that would look.

"What are you going to do then?" Danny asked then tossed a frown at Dan, who was crouched before Lex as he created small flames in the palm of his hands that Lex was trying to catch before Dan extinguished the fire.

"Well, we need a replacement." Jazz bit her lip with a hopeful look at her brother. "Do you think you can help?"

"Dan, try not to burn down the church," Danny instructed firmly, and his evil future rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised you were even able to enter the church. Shouldn't you have, like, exploded into fire by now?"

"Oh, hilarious," Dan muttered with a scowl.

Danny followed Jazz out of the changing room, and they headed into the church where the guests were gathering for the ceremony. He scanned the area, but he didn't see any children around to ask to replace the original flower girl. Glancing at his sister, Danny frowned at the fretful wrinkle of her brow and the way she chewed on her lower lip. Jazz planned for months to get all the details of the wedding right, and now something happened last minute to ruin all her perfect planning. Sam hadn't cared about having a big fancy wedding like this one. They got married in an airplane before they jumped out of it, which scared the pilot half to death because they didn't bother with parachutes.

When his gaze landed on Dash, Danny grabbed hold of his sister by the wrist and dragged her over to the blond man. "Dash, we need your son."

"Uh, what?" Dash blinked with his brow furrowing in his confusion.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Jazz glanced at Danny, and her mouth stretched into a smirk.

Danny almost groaned out loud. How did Dan and Jazz figure it out so easily? He guessed with Jazz's skills at psycho analyzing everything, she probably picked up on some subtle sign that clued her in on their relationship. Dan was just a jerk.

Jazz crouched down in front of Xander, who looked adorable in the suit that Dash got him. "Someone that was supposed to be in the wedding can't make it," she explained, smiling at the boy, "and we need someone to fill in for her. Do want to be our flower boy? It would really mean a lot to me if you participated in the wedding."

Xander tilted his head back to stare up at his father. "What's a flower boy?"

Dash placed a hand on his son's head, ruffling the raven hair. "It's the boy that walks down the aisle at the beginning of the wedding and sprinkles flower petals down it."

"Please?" Jazz begged, clasping her hands before her.

Xander frowned as he considered what was being asked of him, tapping a finger to his chin. "Well, if Lex is in it, I want to be in it too!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jazz drew the little boy into a tight hug before she stood. "Can you get him ready?" she asked the other two adults. "I really need to start getting dressed and getting my hair and makeup done."

"Sure thing, Jazz." Danny watched his sister hurry off to the bride's changing room. Then he turned back to Dash and his son. "Sorry to force you into this." He winced, hoping the other man wouldn't be mad.

Dash shook his head. "We're happy to help." He dropped his gaze to his son. "This'll be exciting, won't it? You're first time being in a wedding."

"Will Lex and I get to be in Paulina and Kwan's weddings?" Xander asked, staring curiously at his father.

"We'll have to see how things go." Dash chuckled awkwardly. "Let's go get ready." He ushered his son along after Danny to prepare for Xander's role as flower boy.


	2. Awkward Talks

**Awkward Talks**

**Summary: **During the summer camp, Danny and Dan discuss something as they watch the boys playing soccer.

**Characters:** Dan, Danny, and Kwan

**Originally Written: **August 2013

"Dash didn't want to come watch his son?" Dan threw a curious glance toward his younger half.

Danny tore his gaze away from the notebook where he was busily scribbling down some notes for his latest novel. "He wanted to." He sighed tiredly as he pulled his glasses away from his face then folded them up to set atop his notebook. "But he has to work. That's why we brought a camera." He pointed toward Kwan, who was farther down the sideline of the field as he recorded the two boys playing with the rest of the children participating in the soccer camp. "I was going to do it myself, but since you brought Kwan, I thought that would give me a chance to get some plotting done during this."

Dan leaned back on his arms as he watched the two boys. "Xander seems pretty scared of the ball." He frowned when Xander flinched back as a bigger boy came up and stole the ball from him.

"He just hasn't had a lot of experience with playing soccer." Danny frowned too when another boy nearly ran Xander over as the two of them went for the ball. Lex blocked the other boy's progress and kicked the ball toward Xander, giving his friend the chance to dribble it down the field. "He just needs to play some more so that he learns to be more assertive while playing. No one starts out as an amazing player."

"I hope for his sake that he gets assertive pretty quickly, or those other boys are going to really rough him up." Dan winced after Xander fell face first to the ground when he tried to get around one of the defensive players guarding the goal. Lex helped him to his feet, checking to see if his friend was injured anywhere before they both hurried off to continue playing with the rest of the boys. Dan's gaze drifted briefly toward Kwan, who smiled widely as he filmed the practice game.

"How are things going between the two of you?" Danny grinned with only a touch of cheekiness to it. Ever since Jazz and Tucker's wedding the month before, Dan teased him about his relationship with Dash. It was only fair that Danny got the chance to do a little teasing of his own.

"Pretty well," Dan said, but his mouth curved slightly downward. "We've been taking it slow until Kwan feels comfortable progressing further. He's okay with kissing now, but he gets nervous if my hands wander too much." He held up his hands and waved them before him. Then he reached up and raked a hand through the raven locks he had in his human disguise. He appeared older now, by at least a year in comparison to Danny. While he noticed that change, Danny stayed quiet about it.

"I get the feeling there's something still bothering you." Danny glanced toward Kwan then returned his gaze to Dan as he frowned.

"Look how happy he is when he's around children." Dan sighed, shaking his head. "I didn't understand why he would go into teaching before, but after seeing how he interacts with children, I get it. But taking care of other people's children isn't the same as having one of his own." He fell silent for some time, simply staring out over the soccer field, though from the distant look in his dark blue eyes, he probably wasn't really seeing what was happening. "That's probably one thing I can't actually give him."

"First off, it sounds like it's _way_ too soon for the two of you to even be discussing the possibility of having a child," Danny said seriously as he frowned severely at his evil future. "As for the two actually having children." Danny sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe we're talking about this. Being that you're a ghost and made up of ectoplasm, it's entirely possible that your insides are as changeable as your outwardly appearance. I'm never going to ask Ember and Skulker or the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady about how they conceived their children, so I don't know how much that differs from the living means of conceiving children. Maybe for ghosts, it's entirely possible for a male to carry a child because their insides aren't permanently set the way a living person's insides are."

"Considering having some more children with your lover?" Dan smirked devilishly.

With a darkening scowl, Danny reached over and gave his evil future a hard shove as Dan chuckled. "No," he grumbled. "We haven't even reached a place where we think we might want to engage in sex."

"And I thought Kwan and I were being slow." Dan rolled his eyes.

"Moving on," Danny said firmly. "Even if it is possible that _you_," he stressed the word as he glared at Dan, "are capable of changing your insides to make it possible to carry a child, that doesn't mean that you will be able to conceive a child with Kwan. What if human sperm isn't compatible with a ghost? I was terrified that the fact that I had ectoplasm in my blood might result in a stillborn or a miscarriage or any number of other possible problems with conceiving a child with Sam. You can ask Vlad. I was pretty much a mess at the time."

Dan tilted his head as he pondered over what Danny said. "But it still might be possible for us to conceive. I could still give it a try."

"Dan, no." Danny glared sternly at the ghost. "You are never to experiment on whether that is or isn't possible without Kwan's consent."

"You still have no faith in me," Dan returned dryly.

"You make it difficult to trust you." Danny frowned back. Then he sighed as he sat up and stretched his arms. "There are other options anyway. Surrogacy would at least give Kwan the chance of having his own child. Or," he added with some hesitancy as he glanced toward Dan, "there are some _other_ means of how you and Kwan could have a child." Exhaustion hit him as his shoulders slumped when Dan stared blankly at him. "Hello!" He nearly slapped Dan for not putting the pieces together. "You know two reality changing ghosts that could help you out in this situation. Though I would suggest Ghost Writer as making a W could result in an unexpected twist. _But_," he stressed strongly, "that's something you should discuss with Kwan first."

"Discuss what with me first?" Kwan questioned as he joined where the two of them were sitting. The camp finished for the day, and Lex and Xander were over getting juice boxes and snacks from the volunteers that brought treats for the children.

"It wasn't anything important," Dan mumbled, glancing away as he scratched awkwardly at his cheek.

Danny rolled his eyes before turning his gaze onto Kwan, whose brow furrowed with his confusion. "I'm sure he'll talk to you about it eventually. And if he doesn't, I'll make him regret it."

"You're making me worry that I won't like it." Kwan frowned, sending an annoyed glance toward Dan. The boys hurried over to them, ruining any further chance to discuss the topic.

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**Author's Note**: I know mpreg is something that some people don't like. In some cases, I think there are logical explanations for it being possible. And yes, for all of you that were wondering what Danny was going to suggest after adoption and surrogacy when he was talking to Kwan before getting cut off, Danny was going to tell Kwan that he knew of two ghosts that have powers that can alter reality.

**animevampLlover**: Thanks! XD I was trying to think of how they would have their wedding and while talking with some other writers, the suggestion of doing the skydiving came up. =) I liked it.

**jelloshots99**: Yay! 8D There shall be more! I have some other stuff planned. I should probably think of something to do with Paulina too.

**maltese**: Woo fun! =D

**xXAngel AlliXx**: Thanks! =) I'm glad you liked it.

**midnight**: XD That would be pretty funny. Xander and Lex being adorable little flower boy and ring bearer. 8D


	3. Past Lies

**Past Lies**

**Summary: **While filming the boys during soccer camp, Danny learns of something Dash said from one of the mothers.

**Characters:** Danny and Dash

**Originally Written: **August 2013

Danny smiled as he stood on the sidelines of the soccer field with a video camera in his hand. The camp was winding down to the final days, and Dash couldn't make it to every single one of them, so on the days he had to work at the office, Danny recorded the practice game so that Dash could watch it later that night. Xander got better slowly at playing. Some of the bigger boys still took every opportunity to steal the ball and trip him up in the process. Xander was a little braver now, managing not to fall every time the other boys confronted him, but he really shined when he was put in the goal and threw his body to block the other boys' shots. Lex, meanwhile, had no problems stealing the ball and driving toward the other end to shoot for a goal. He needed to work on passing a bit more, when Xander was running up the field with him.

"Alone today?"

At the question, Danny tore his gaze away from watching Lex and Xander. The woman that came up to him approached so quietly that Danny never even noticed until she spoke. Usually he was much better at being aware of his surroundings, though that was more toward ghostly attacks than a single mother coming to speak with him. Leah Salgado usually palled around with a few of the other single mothers that spent much of their time gossiping about everything under the sun, and especially about the school and the parents of the other students. They were all right to talk with, at times, though Danny felt uncomfortable whenever they started talking about the other parents.

"Yeah," Danny answered, blinking at the short, rounded woman with crimpy brown hair wafting gently on the breeze. "My cousin is busy." Doing what, Danny was sure he didn't want to ask. He never really knew where Dan disappeared to for weeks sometimes, but he was confident that Clockwork wouldn't allow his evil future to do anything bad.

Biting his tongue, he held back mentioning anything about Kwan. They had seen the teacher with Danny at the camp, but Danny hoped the other parents assumed it was only because of Xander. While Kwan and Dan seemed to be doing well in their relationship, Danny doubted Kwan wanted everyone to know about it, especially the closed minded parents that would try to get him fired if they learned that he was bisexual. His jaw clenched tightly as anger burned through his veins that people would still do something like that. Kwan was a good teacher and the students liked him. His preference in life partners shouldn't have any effect on his teaching position.

Ms. Salgado nodded as her brown eyes gazed out over the field. After several moments, she turned back to Danny. "And your wife?"

It was a simple question. Only three little words. But it felt like a hard punch to the gut that left Danny gasping for air. He stared at her for longer than he probably should with his blue eyes wide and his slack jaw hanging open. Ms. Salgado blinked several times as Danny remained silent, unable to answer her question.

"I'm sorry," she said with some awkwardness, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as her gaze drifted away from him. "Dash mentioned that your wife was on a business trip back at your son's birthday. I assumed that she would have returned by now." Glancing back over at him, she raised her eyebrows curiously.

His mind blanked, unable to think of a response to give the woman. Lex's birthday party was before his whole breakdown in front of Dash, that still put a flush of heat upon his cheeks when he thought about how embarrassing it was to sob like that in front of his old high school bully. Dash wouldn't have known what happened to Sam at that point in time. He was thankfully saved from having to address the woman's question when Lex and Xander dashed up to him with granola bars and juice boxes in hand.

"Dad, did you see my goal?" Lex asked excitedly while Xander bit off a large chunk of his granola bar.

"Yeah, that was amazing," Danny replied, though he had actually missed it thanks to Ms. Salgado's sudden question. "Uh, sorry, Ms. Salgado," he winced with an apologetic look, "the boys and I have somewhere to be now."

"We do?" Xander questioned around his mouthful of granola as he tilted his head, confusion clouding his blue eyes.

"Yeah. Remember?" Lex said with a nudge and a short glare that told his friend to play along.

"O-Oh! Oh yeah!" Xander nodded his head a few times. "Now I remember!" He grinned up at Danny. "You promised us ice cream after camp today."

Danny wanted to argue, but seeing that curious glance from Ms. Salgado, he decided against it. "Right. Ice cream," he agreed with a forced smile. "So you'll have to excuse us." He bowed his head to the woman before ushering the two boys off to his car. Once they all climbed in, he felt like he could breathe easier without the question about Sam lingering over his head.

"What did she want?" Lex asked curiously, sitting in the back with Xander as they enjoyed the remainder of their snacks.

"It wasn't anything important," Danny answered as he pulled the car away from the curb. Driving toward the ice cream shop, he really hoped none of the other parents would approach him to ask about Sam. With a sigh, he realized he should probably explain that Sam died, but it wasn't something he could just blurt out in conversation. He only knew the other parents through brief meetings because their children were in the same class. It didn't seem like any of their business to know what happened to Sam.

By the time Dash returned from work later that night, Danny decided to allow the boys some time to play video games. Xander started to get really good at them, and even though the doctor showed interest in playing too, Dash held off on actually buying any video games for his son. It seemed silly to Danny, but he wasn't going to argue with how Dash decided to do things where his son was concerned. While the boys were busy in the front room, Danny started to fix a nice hot cup of coffee for the exhausted looking doctor, who leaned back on his arms against the counter.

Danny's mouth pursed as he stared at the shiny silver of the pot, debating the best way to bring up the topic to the man. He could always simply ignore it, let the whole event slide on the rug and go forgotten, but he couldn't ignore the need to say something about it. Steam wafted slowly from the spout but the pot had yet to whistle to signify the water was nice and hot.

"I spoke with Ms. Salgado today," he started, his voice quiet with only a hint of uncertainty in how to actually tell Dash what was said.

"Oh?" One of his eyebrows twitched upward as Dash stared at him, almost surveying the half ghost's expression like he was trying to gauge what reaction was wanted out of him. "How did that go?"

Danny turned, landing a narrow eyed glare upon the doctor. "She wanted to know where Sam is since you seem to have informed some of the other mothers that she was away on a business trip when I had Lex's birthday party." He didn't notice the rise of his voice until the kitchen suddenly fell silent with only the soft whistle from the pot and his heavy breaths disrupting the quiet.

"Okay." Dash cringed as he rubbed at the back of his neck. The action reminded Danny more of an awkward teenager than a grown man. "Perhaps I should have just kept my big mouth shut when they started asking me questions."

"You think?" Danny snapped, his hands curling and nails dragging over the hard granite top. "Why did you even tell them anything?"

"What was I supposed to say?" Dash questioned calmly, but Danny could see anger growing in his dark blue eyes. "Did you want me to tell them she was dead? It wasn't any of their business what happened to Sam. They didn't need to know the truth. And it wasn't something I should have been spreading around like gossip. I figured if you wanted anyone to know the truth, _you_ would be the one telling them."

"And how's that going to look when I finally _do_ tell them the truth and it comes out that you lied about it?" Danny glanced hesitantly toward the doorway of the kitchen, halfway expecting the boys to be there watching them with fearful expressions. Turning back to Dash, he lowered his voice. "Especially since we got together afterward. They might think you lied to eliminate the competition. Or something weird like that."

Dash shrugged. "Maybe I did want to eliminate the competition without realizing it." The admission of that possibility set Danny back, and he could only stare at the doctor. "Anyway," Dash continued like the statement wasn't important, "I can always tell them that I misheard you talking to Jazz and thought you mentioned that Sam was off on a business trip. They have no way of knowing that I already heard from Paulina about Sam dying." His expression turned a bit more serious as he frowned. "And you were clearly not in the right place to even consider the idea of dating just yet. If those women had learned that you were single, they might have started trying to weasel you into dates. I was actually trying to save you from that harassment. Having single mothers being overly obvious in their attempts to get a date out of you wasn't the type of pressure you needed to deal with at that time."

Danny opened his mouth, wanting to snap out angrily at the man for having lied to other parents about Sam. "You're right," he mumbled, lowering his head as he sighed. "I don't think I would have handled things very well if the single moms were looking for a date from me. I wasn't ready to throw myself back into dating. I didn't think I ever would be." He glanced toward Dash. "But I'm really glad you were there to help me through it."

"Isn't that what friends are for?" Dash grinned as he got down a mug from the cupboard so that Danny could pour the cup of coffee for him.

"Yeah," Danny agreed with a crooked smile. "But no more spouting out lies. If any of the parents ask you anything about me that you think they don't need to know, just tell them you don't know anything. Or just don't say anything at all."

"I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Dash caught Danny's hand and gave it a small squeeze, their little show affection when the boys were around to catch them.

* * *

**Black-Ookami-san**: It's so hard to imagine Dan actually carrying the child though! XD At least the "I hate" part isn't leading to "and want to kill you" anymore. XD;; Thanks! =)

**Kyo Shijou**: That sounds really tempting! XD Especially with possible child popping up along the way. XD;; I'm doing great. =) Thanks for asking~ How are you?

**jelloshots99**: I'd say yes, but Danny would probably have to spend the whole time in his ghost form or things could get... awkward for him. If this was an all human story with nothing supernaturally about it or none of the characters where ghosts, I wouldn't even think about suggesting mpreg. Poor Xan~ I bet Dash, when he's able to come, wants to go out there and knock all the boys away from hurting his son. XD;; But he restrains himself.

**Hoytti**: It seems totally logical, right? XD Probably not something that happens a huge amount of the time, but on occasion when two male ghosts are a couple and decide they want their own little ghost baby, I can see one of them altering his insides to make him capable of carrying the baby. XD;;

**mk94**: I couldn't resist playing around some more in their world~ It's fun! 8D

**midnight**: Yay! I'm glad it makes sense. XD And not just some illogical thought in my head. XD;;

**maltese**: Haha, yeah. The mpreg where it makes no logical sense, the characters are completely human, there's nothing supernatural going on, kind of makes it weird. XD;;; I certainly wouldn't be suggesting the idea if Dan was a full human rather than a full ghost.

**Kuro Nova**: XD My writing schedule kind of got interrupted with family visiting, so it seemed like a good time to work on some little afterward drabbles. =) Haha, yeah, Dan would probably be annoyingly cranky trying to carry the child until birth. I can see him driving everyone crazy like that. XD;; But that's also why the suggestion of using Desiree and Ghost Writer came up. With them, the baby could already be born without Dan having to actually carry it the whole time. XD; And Ghost Writer could forge up some legal documents to avoid any questions about where the baby came from.

**EmberMclain13**: Yes~ More Doctor Dash! 8D


	4. Greener on the Other Side

**Greener on the Other Side**

**Summary: **Danny isn't too keen on complying with the boys' wishes, but Dash tips the scales against him.

**Characters:** Danny and Dash

**Originally Written: **August 2013

"Please, please, please!"

Dash closed his book, setting it aside on the coffee table, when he heard the voices of two boys begging for something. For what they were pleading, he didn't know, but he could already imagine Danny's exasperated expression as the boys continued to pester him.

Danny. The name still felt strange for him to say, or even think, instead of referring to the raven haired man by his last name. The habit was hard to break, and sometimes he still fumbled when speaking to the man and it came out as "Fen- Danny." On occasion, irritation would flash in those bright blue eyes and his mouth would press thin whenever he caught those slipups, and Dash was certain he would get an earful from the half ghost about not calling him Fenton anymore.

When he entered the kitchen, Dash frowned at the two boys standing before the other man. They had their hands clasped in front of them with that usual puppy dog pout on their faces whenever they wanted to persuade them into giving them whatever they wanted. Dash thought it was difficult to resist when he only had his son to deal with, but now with the pair of boys teaming up, it bordered on impossible to ignore the double pout.

"What do they want now?" Dash questioned as he lifted an eyebrow at Danny, whose waned expression suggested he was seconds away from caving in and giving the boys what they wanted.

Reaching up, Danny rubbed tiredly at his forehead. "I was working out a training schedule and mentioned that we should probably hold them in the Ghost Zone if we were going to practice the Ghostly Wail. Now Lex wants to take Xander along for the trip." His mouth curved downward in disapproval as he stared down at the boys and folded his arms.

Ghost talk was another strange thing that came up frequently now in their conversations, and sometimes it hit him hard and left him staring blankly at the wall as it all sank into his head. He was dating Danny Phantom. He spent a large amount of his time in the presence of his hero. It slipped his mind most of the time because when Dash was with the half ghost, Danny acted so normal. Danny would talk about his experiences fighting ghosts, the battles he won, when prompted, but he didn't boast about it on end to the point where Dash wanted to punch him in the face to make him shut up about it. Danny talked about his ghostly accomplishments like they weren't even minor achievements in life, treating them more like he was retelling events from one of his novels. Dash rather liked that about him. Some people would say "you should never meet your hero" because there was always that chance that his hero would turn out to be a major jerk with a big ego. But Danny wasn't like that, and Dash was glad he didn't have to see his hero in that negative light.

"The Ghost Zone," Dash repeated ponderously, the other worldly name rattling around in his head. He heard the name often enough from Danny's stories, but now it really stuck out in his mind. "I'm actually kind of curious to see this Ghost Zone." There was that one time during freshmen year where their town got pulled into it, but while he was panic stricken over the whole event, he didn't really take much time to really look at the surroundings beyond the shield protecting Amity Park.

Danny's brow creased as the words processed in his head. "You _want_ to go into the Ghost Zone?" His mouth hung slightly open in his surprise.

"Come on, Dad!" Lex begged, tugging at his father's pant leg.

"Can we please?" Xander pleaded with the biggest pout on his face that Dash could ever recall seeing.

"Why not?" Dash shrugged like they were talking about going to the park rather than journeying into the mysterious realm where ghosts dwelled when they weren't haunting the real world. "You're not going to take your son to any spot that would be too dangerous, so we won't be at any great risk. And if you're worried that something might happen while we're in there, you can give me some of those weapons in the lab," because he made Danny show him the laboratory after learning that the man worked on ghost hunting inventions in his spare time, "so that I can fight too."

Danny's mouth pursed, and a quiet fury burned in his eyes as he held Dash's gaze. "I really hate it sometimes when you side with the boys then make a totally logical argument for why I shouldn't say no." He sighed tiredly, the anger melting from his expression as he raked a hand through his hair. "Fine. We'll take a trip into the Ghost Zone." He frowned as their sons cheered. "This is all on you if something goes wrong." His eyes narrowed as he pointed accusingly at Dash. Then he led the way down the stairs into the laboratory.

"Can we take my bike?" Lex asked, sticking close to his father as Danny examined his weaponry to decide what would be best to give the doctor.

The bike Lex referred to sat over in the corner of the laboratory: a nice shiny motorcycle perfectly sized for the eight year old. When he first saw it, Dash could hardly believe that Danny would buy something, or more likely built it, that dangerous for his son to ride. Danny explained that it was a birthday present from Vlad Masters, who was his parents' college friend, and he was positive that Vlad got it for Lex for the single purpose of annoying Danny. But the half ghost only allowed his son to ride the motorcycle while in the Ghost Zone and under his strict supervision. The remote control that Vlad gave Danny allowed him to operate the motorcycle if Lex tried to wander too far away from his father. It also had a locator on it, just in case anything should happen.

"Not today," Danny said as he picked up a bazooka type blaster and a much smaller pistol styled weapon. When he approached Dash, he hesitated, a thought seeming to pass through his mind. "Maybe we should pay a visit to Skulker and Ember's lair," he suggested as he handed the weapons over to Dash. "It'll be a fairly safe spot, and with Skulker and Ember around, that's two more adults to fight if trouble decides to try wielding its ugly head."

"That could be wise," Dash agreed as he strapped the bazooka to his back then secured the holster for the pistol about his waist. When something occurred to him, he turned a frown onto Danny. "I doubt you want to carry all of us through the Ghost Zone. How are we supposed to get around in there?"

"Lex has gotten fairly good at flying." Danny grabbed something from one of the supply closets. "I can carry Xander, and if you like, you can use this." He tossed the object toward the ground, and the circle expanded and stretched into a board that hovered several inches from the floor.

"You have just about everything, huh?" Dash wore a teasing smirk as he stepped carefully onto the board that dipped under his weight.

The rings of light passed over Danny's body, and Dash still couldn't get used to witnessing that transformation. One moment he stared at Fenton, and in the next, Phantom took his place. "I find it's usually best to prepare for any situation," Danny said, his gaze shifting away from Dash to see his son transform similarly. Unlike his father whose outfit was black and white, Lex wore a red and white costume, a dark red that almost could have matched his hair if not for the purple tone of it. "Obviously," Danny continued with a slight frown, "you can't actually prepare for everything." The hint of sadness tinged his green eyes, and Dash knew immediately that he was reflecting back on Sam's death.

Yes, Dash agreed, it was impossible to prepare for everything that life threw at them. He watched Danny tear his gaze away from his son then walked over to the big yellow and black door that was the Portal into the Ghost Zone. After he unlocked it, the doors opened, gears grinding until the doors fully opened and all that could be seen within the Portal was a swirl of green. It didn't look like the most inviting place, and if that was the kind of place where ghosts had to live, Dash wasn't surprised that many of them escaped into the real world. He dropped his dark blue eyes to his son, wondering if the sight would give his son more nightmares. Instead of appearing frightened by it, Xander wore a curious expression as he gazed into the endless green.

"Are you boys ready to go?" Danny asked with a bright smile that masked his pain far too easily, but Dash wouldn't pester the half ghost about that point.

"Yes!" Lex shouted excitedly, pumping his little fists into the air as he sprung from the floor and floated there. He certainly had practically mastered the ability of flight.

Danny crouched down, giving Xander the chance to climb onto his back and ride piggy back style. When he stood up again, Danny turned to the blond man. "Ready?"

Dash pressed the button on the front of the board, and it jerked forward in a motion that nearly knocked him off balance and onto the floor. He quickly slammed his foot down on the button behind him that jolted the board to a halt. The buttons were a lot more sensitive than he expected.

"I think I can get a handle of this thing," Dash said, chuckling awkwardly. He would have to be careful or the board would go speeding off and he would probably be left behind flailing his limbs as he descended into the endless abyss of the Ghost Zone. Was it an endless abyss? He supposed he would find out after he followed Danny through the Portal. After Danny and the boys entered the Ghost Zone, Danny calling after Lex not to fly too fast or get too far ahead of them, Dash gingerly pressed the accelerator that pushed him and board forward through the Portal.

* * *

**Hoytti**: Well, at the same time, it's not necessarily any of their business. XD;;

**midnight**: Like getting hit by a truck! D8 At least they've gotten mature enough to discuss things like that without turning it into a huge blow out fight? XD;;

**AmbrosiaQueen**: Danny carrying a child, I can see. Dan, on the other hand... XD I see him getting frustrated with it.

**jelloshots99**: XD Xander takes all opportunities to get ice cream! And who wouldn't want to go after Danny once they find out he's single? He's a great dad, he's a total sweetheart, he's very caring, he's smart, he's fun to be around. He has so many good points. Sometimes it's hard to think of why he was so unpopular in high school. XD;; I guess being the son of the town "nut job" ghost hunters didn't really help.


End file.
